240 Can’t Be Reassured
Fu Jiu knocked on the door of Pei Ningle’s rental apartment. As soon as she entered, she noticed that the light seemed a bit dim.
The lights weren’t on in the room, and all the curtains were drawn, so the lighting was naturally insufficient. Pei Ningle, who opened the door, stood there with messy hair and a somewhat resentful look in her eyes.
Fu Jiu was startled and hurriedly asked, “Sister Little Le, what’s wrong?”
Pei Ningle: “I’m busy writing songs…”
Fu Jiu: “No, you look wrong. And why aren’t the curtains open?”
“Because I don’t know if there are paparazzi outside. I’ve been secretly photographed several times outside, like this one.”
With that, Pei Ningle took Fu Jiu to the computer and opened a webpage in her favorites.
It was a news page, and the title was very eye-catching—【How destitute is Pei Ningle, who was eliminated by a shady scene?】
And the picture inside showed the unkempt girl holding a small plastic bag, staring blankly at the camera.
Fu Jiu asked curiously, “Was this secretly taken by paparazzi? Why do they say you’re destitute?”
Pei Ningle: “Probably because I went out without combing my hair or putting on makeup, and dressed casually… But I was just buying breakfast. Who dresses up specially just to go out? And it’s not just this one. There are several gossip news articles saying how destitute I am and how miserable the program team made me!”
Fu Jiu looked at her and couldn’t help but sympathize. “Does Sister Little Le have any privacy left? So miserable.”
Pei Ningle: “There are gains and losses. My two songs have gained a lot of plays, and I have a lot of fans. There are also music festivals asking me to perform, with an appearance fee of 100,000 each time.”
Fu Jiu suddenly regretted it—she shouldn’t have said it was miserable just now. 100,000 yuan each time, that’s obviously awesome! Converted into beautiful little dresses, how many could she buy?
After reading two more nonsensical news reports, Fu Jiu asked, “Then what will Sister Little Le do in the future? Are you never going out?”
Pei Ningle looked melancholy. “I don’t know either…”
**
Returning home, Fu Jiu described Pei Ningle’s current situation to Lu Qi. But before she finished listening, Lu Qi’s eyes lit up.
“She’s being targeted by paparazzi? That’s easy to handle. Just move house, and then protect personal privacy, ensuring that the landlord and other related people won’t leak her address. Isn’t that enough?”
Fu Jiu thought for a moment and couldn’t help asking, “Is that enough? Then I’ll suggest it to Sister Little Le?”
Lu Qi smiled and asked, “Where do you suggest she move? Think clearly, why is Pei Ningle being targeted by a bunch of paparazzi now? Isn’t it because people around her, like the landlord, showed off that a star came out of their house and let others know? If she moves to a new house, and the new landlord can’t help showing off, what then?”
Fu Jiu was a little confused. “Sister Qiqi, didn’t you say moving would solve it? Then what should she do?”
Lu Qi pointed to her chest. “Near the University of Electronic Science and Technology, I have a house. It’s an apartment with very good soundproofing.”
Fu Jiu finally realized. “I understand! Sister Qiqi, you can be her landlord!”
Lu Qi smiled. “Chat with your Sister Little Le and ask if she’s willing. If she is, I can give her a discount on the rent.”
Of course, there was one thing she wouldn’t tell her little cousin—if Pei Ningle moved into that apartment, she could immediately buy the apartment next door and monitor her closely. Considering that Wang Heng would often visit Pei Ningle, it would be very convenient for her to intervene.
**
After finishing a course half by self-study and half by review, Wang Heng turned on the computer and looked at the trending searches on Weibo again.
After a few days, the trending search about Pei Ningle being eliminated by a shady scene had disappeared. Just searching for the name Pei Ningle, one could still see a lot of discussion content. And basically, it was one-sided condemnation of the program team. Of course, there were those who defended the program team, but they wouldn’t attack Pei Ningle, instead emphasizing reasons like ‘different styles’ and ‘stage expressiveness’ between Pei Ningle and Xie Hong.
After watching for a long time, Wang Heng suddenly felt a little bored. Picking up his phone at this time, he noticed a message from Pei Ningle:
【I’m moving. Sister Lu Qi has a vacant apartment nearby, which is just right for me to rent. I went to see it with them, it’s really nice, so I plan to move.】
Wang Heng couldn’t help but recall that night a few days ago when he sent the drunk Lu Qi to that place… Presumably, the one to be rented to Pei Ningle was that one, right?
So, was there any scheme of Lu Qi in this renting matter?
Wang Heng thought for a long time and summarized that this matter was probably a mix of joy and sorrow for him. On one hand, introducing Lu Qi into the battlefield of love shared the pressure from Pei Ningle and Han Yixuan; on the other hand, Lu Qi was not a pushover. He remembered clearly how quickly and easily he was taken down by Lu Qi in the first timeline, and what happened in that office afternoon.
Sighing, Wang Heng opened the cage next to him and lifted the hamster out.
“Brother, predict, is there any risk in the future?”
There was no one else in the dormitory at this time, but when asking, he habitually lowered his voice.
The hamster, held by the scruff of its neck and suspended in the air, looked at him askance and asked back, “Is this the attitude of asking for help?”
Wang Heng grabbed a handful of melon seeds and handed them to its mouth.
The hamster picked up a melon seed and started gnawing.
After finishing this one, it picked up a second one and said, “Don’t worry, with me watching, you won’t be yandere-d.”
Wang Heng: “Then is there a risk of being pushed down?”
The hamster: “Without absolute certainty of winning, with Lu Qi’s character, it’s impossible to put all her eggs in one basket. You remember the things in the first timeline, do I need to explain her character to you? By the way, speaking of which, there is one thing I can really remind you of.”
Wang Heng: “What?”
The hamster: “It’s the startup company ofo. They have exhausted the money in their account. That Wei Kai looked for venture capital everywhere, but no one was optimistic about him. He should call you in less than two days.”
If it weren’t for the hamster’s reminder, Wang Heng would have almost forgotten that he had made such a leisurely move. The one hundred thousand yuan lent to Wei Kai unconditionally was of course enough for Wei Kai to treat him as the last straw when he had nowhere to go.
However, Wang Heng was a little conflicted. “This guy, the time he couldn’t hold on was a bit earlier than I expected. It’s not even the World Cup yet…”
The hamster said leisurely, “Then you have to make a choice. Whether to take the money to bet on football, or save ofo’s life and point out a clear path for them by the way?”
Betting on football has huge returns, but may face the risk of the butterfly effect. Investing in ofo is a long-term line with even more terrifying returns, but it is also possible to encounter the influence of the butterfly effect and have accidents midway.
In other words, both choices are risky, and the magnitude of the risk is difficult to assess. What should he do?
After pondering for a moment, Wang Heng asked, “Can you provide risk warnings? For example, when betting on the World Cup, remind me which matches have different results from the first timeline…”
The hamster said while cracking melon seeds, “That depends on the progress of your relationship with those four girls.”
This was really an answer that couldn’t make one feel at ease.
